On Friday evening, the Chargers travelled to  lovely Marsing to take on the hometown Huskies. Fresh off of an 18-6 win over Payette, the Huskies had upsetting the Chargers on their minds. Turns out the only upsetting going on was the Charger faithful’s reaction to some interesting officiating.

The Chargers received the opening kickoff and looked to unleash its high-octane offense on the Huskies. On the first play from scrimmage, #33 Obi Gee(Jr) was in the process of a nice run when a Marsing player’s helmet hit the ball, freeing it from Gee’s grasp. It would be just one of many things that didn’t bounce the Chargers way.

Emboldened by their takeaway, the Marsing offense was initially successful on its first drive, gaining two of its seven first downs on the night on the Chargers new/old 4 front defense. However, a costly penalty, a great sack by #50 Noah Corder(Sr) and a blocked punt had the Husky offense whimpering.

On the ensuing drive, the Chargers would find pay dirt. Following a strong run by Gee, the usually strong offensive line gave up the first of a few sacks. Marsing found success in blitzing #14 Roman Conder(Sr) off and on all night. Another strong run by Gee was followed up by a near miss pass play, setting up a crucial fourth down play. Conder’s thirty-four yard pinpoint pass found a well defended #8 Brady Frame in the end zone for six. Following a successful PAT by #1 Will Stevens(Jr). CVCS led 7-0.

The next defensive series was typical of what this Charger team has come to be known for. The Marsing offense began marching….backwards. The Huskies rushed thirty-seven times for thirty-one yards on the night. Altogether, the Huskies were only able to muster a meager seventy-nine yards of total offense. Have I ever mentioned that this Charger D is pretty good?

The Charger offense went a little stagnant on the following drive, giving up sack number three and failing to gain a first down on a fourth down screen play. In my opinion, Marsing is a difficult place to play and seemingly every trip there has something unusual happening.

The following Huskies drive was short and sweet. In the face of a massive pass rush from the Chargers front seven, the quarterback offered up a wounded duck throw that #34 Garrett Kranz(Jr) was happy to accept. Turnover Chargers.

A quick two play drive saw Conder connecting on a pass and then Gee taking the read option give from Conder, scamper right, and sprint the remaining twenty-one yards into the end zone for another touchdown. Following Stevens successful PAT, CVCS lead 14-0.

The following defensive stand was where things got weird for the Chargers. After dropping the Huskies for a loss and no gain, the Marsing quarterback dropped back on third and long and was hit by a hard charging #20 Dylan Krogh(Sr). A flag was thrown and after much discussion and debate, Krogh’s shoulder-to-shoulder hit was called targeting or helmet-to-helmet contact and Krogh was ejected from the game. Although instant replay isn’t made available to high school officials, I’ve watched the replay several times and am befuddled by what exactly the official saw when making that call.

Given fresh hope, the Marsing offense had another set of downs to use. They promptly lost yardage to a fired-up Charger defense, forcing a punt. However, confusion followed the play as a Charger phantom roughing-the-kicker penalty and a Huskies unnecessary roughness penalty somehow ended up giving the hometown team the ball back. But once again, the CVCS D rose to the occasion and stopped the Marsing punter’s attempted run from gaining a first down.

Perhaps sensing a momentum shift, the Huskies defense stopped the Chargers next drive, dropping Gee for a two-yard loss on fourth and seven. Given a breath of fresh air, the hometown Huskies followed up another Corder sack with perhaps their best offensive play of the night: a twenty-two yard pass play on third and eighteen. The Huskies weren’t able to capitalize on the home cooking and the half came to a close with the Chargers leading 14-0.

An inspired CVCS defense quickly had the Marsing offense trotting to the sideline with a three-and-out. Conder then methodically led the offense on a nice drive that ended with a turnover deep in Huskies territory.

Again, the Charger defense was unwilling to give even an inch to the opposing offense. Marsing marched steadily backwards until they faced a fourth and twenty-one punting situation. The Charger punt block team got a hand on the ball, Gee fielded the blocked punt behind the line of scrimmage and the Chargers offense was quickly back in business.

It only took one play for Conder to find the end zone on a rushing play from seven yards out.  Conder would finish with nine rushes for five yards and a touchdown on the night to go along with a fourteen of eighteen passing night and two touchdowns through the air. The PAT sailed through the uprights and the Chargers held a 21-0 margin.

The Charger defense again forced a quick negative-yards three and out of the Huskies offense. On second and four, Conder found #13 Ben Arthur(Sr) on a  38 yard scoring strike. Arthur caught the six-yard pass, turned to the outside and raced to the end zone. The Stevens PAT would be blocked and the score would be 27-0 Chargers.

Following Stevens kickoff that ended up resting in the opponents end zone, the defense produced more of the same: the Huskies offense retreating. A desperation third and long pass was intercepted by the long arms of Arthur, setting up the offense with excellent field position.

With Conder at the controls of the Charger offense, they wasted little time in marching deep in Huskies territory. Gee took the handoff and picked his way through the defense for a nine-yard touchdown. Following a blocked extra point attempt by Stevens, the Chargers led 33-0, a score that would stand as the final.

The Huskies final possession of the night would be highlighted by an option toss on third and long for a first down. This only delayed the inevitable, though as #51 Francisco Castro(Sr) would engulf the quarterback, forcing a fumble that was nearly recovered by youngster #56 Dawson Lee(Fr). Following a last-ditch heave, the ball fell helplessly to the turf and the Chargers took over on downs. Conder took the snap and hurled a strike to Arthur inside the five. Choosing to take the high road, the Chargers took a knee, allowing the clock to tick down to zero.

The highlight of the game was that strong Charger defense. Can we talk about Noah Corder? I’m unsure if CVCS keeps records for sacks, but Corder is assaulting offenses with his pass rush. Often dragging wanna be blockers in his wake, Corder masterfully uses his skill set at the defensive end spot. Thanks to some help from his friends on the interior of the line, he is often freed up to rush one-on-one with a hapless blocker. The entire defense rose to the occasion in pitching another shutout and keeping the Huskies to under one hundred total yards on the night.

Roman Conder is masterfully maneuvering  the offense. With an array of weapons that possess strike-from-anywhere capabilities, he more often than not makes the right decisions in which weapon to use and when. Obi Gee spent the evening doing Obi Gee things. Ben Arthur has emerged as a valuable receiver using his length and speed to stretch defenses. I’m hoping the injury to Frame is a mere setback.

In what is shaping up to be their biggest test of the season, the Chargers will entertain the McCall-Donnelly Vandals Friday night at 7:00 pm ad Dona Larsen Park. The 2-1 Vandals are coming off a tough 40-22 loss to a powerful Grangeville team. Let’s pack the stadium in support of our boys this Friday!